Buckle.



No. 702,082. Y Patented lune 10, |902.

0. E. wnmz.

BUCKLE.

(Apphcation filed May 11, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT ()EEICE DAVID E. WHITE, OF WINOHESTER, KANSAS.

BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 702,082, dated June 10,` 1902.

Appiianon filed my 11,1901.

To all whom it may coi/werft.-

Be it known that I, DAVID E, WHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Winchester, in the county OfJeEEerson and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Buckle, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to buckles, and more particularly to a buckle to be used on harness.` The object of the invention is to provide a shield having means at one end for securing it to the frame ofthe buckle, the other end being adapted to be secured beneath a,loop. A further object is to provide a shieldwhich may be applied to buckles of the ordinary make without changing their construction and which may be used with any preferred form of buckle.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists, generally stated, in a rnetallic plate provided with meansof attachment to the end bar of a buckle and also means for holding a supplemental strap, whereby a iiexible end is provided forthe shield.

As a matter of further improvement I may kconstruct the shield in such manner as ,to

permit the strap carried thereby to be readily` detachable, or I may constructl the'shield in such manner that the strap will be permanently held in place therein.

By the employment of this shield, especially in connection with harness, not only will the tongue be held in place, but it will be prevented from catching the hairs ofsav horses tail or from becoming entangled with a iiy-net or with ablanket. 'Y K Y The device maybe sold as an article of manufacture and be assembled with bucklesv already in use or may be manufactured in connection with the buckle at the factoryh 1 the additional cost of this device to abuckle being rso slight as not'to make this offer au obstacle to its adoption.

Further and more specific .details of construction will be hereinafterv described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part otY this specification, and in which like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts, I have illustrated a form of embodiment of my invention applied to an ordinary buckle,

-. of my invention.

serial N6. 59357." (No man.)

itbeing understood that the construction of theshield and the manner in which it is vapplied to an ordinaryfbuckle `or to 'a peculiar kind of buckle employed may be varied or changed without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and in these drawings#- Figure l is a view in perspective, showing the buckle with the shield down over the tongue. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the shield turned outward away from the tongue. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the buckle, shield, and straps. Fig. 4 is a perspective detail view of the shield detached from the buckle and from the strap.

Referring to the drawings, l designates the i, the shield, and `5 the combined "shield and strap attachment= The buckle and tongue may be'ofany preferred or usu-al construction, and thereforeneed no detailed description. Upon the end bar '6 of the buckle, usually engaged by a roller, is secured the shield,

- the same Vbeing here shown of less length than the buckle, although it may be of the same length, as will be readily apparent, the manner `o i' assemblage between these parts being in this instance to form oneend of the shield f'witha tubular ott'set 7 to be clamped around the saidbar. This ymode of 'assembling the shield with the buckle will be found highly effective and will be simply and easily accomplished; but it is to be understood that Idonot limit myself to this precise manner of assembling the parts, as other procedures may be employed and still be within the scope The shield is constructed of sheet metal, having its sides 8 bent in toward each other to form a recess, in which thestrap f4 is housed, and where the union 4 is to be detachableffrom the shield, thev strap will be inserted between the overturned members 8, and these will be pinched down ICO upon the strap with suicient firmness to hold the parts assembled. As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the overturned portions are rigidly secured to the strap; but it will be understood that by omitting the teeth or prongs 9 the detachable assemblage of the shield and the strap above referred to may readily be effected. In making this shield it may be nickel-plated or gold-plated to correspond to the character of the buckle and will be found in use to impart a highly-ornamental finish to the harness. By reason of the fact that the shield completely covers the tongue and is held over the same by the strap 4.- or flexible end of the shield passing under a loop 10, which in this instance is the end bar of the buckle, the tongue cannot ride upward when tension from the strap 3 is removed, and thus present an obstruction upon which the net, blanket, or the hairs of the horses tail will catch. Any means may be provided for holding the flexible end of the strap; but the loop of the buckle is preferred. Moreover, this shield will operate to prevent the strap 3 from working loose from the tongue 2, as it will be readily apparent that the tongue will contact with the under side of the strap 4l aud will thus be safely held in place.

It Will be understood that I do not desire to confine this invention to the employment of a tongue-buckle, as it will be equally adaptable for use with a pivoted clamp-buckle or with a buckle having one or more tongues.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art Without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any ofthe advantages of the invention.

What I claim is- 1. In a buckle, the combination with a frame having an intermediate cross-bar, of a tongue hinged to said cross-bar and having its free end adapted to rest upon one of the end bars, and a tongue-shield comprising a metal plate having one end formed into a tubular offset which pivotally embraces the end bar against which a tongue is adapted to rest, and a flexible strap applied to the plate and adapted to be inserted beneath the other end bar of the frame to hold the shield entirely over the tongue, the opposite sides of the plate being folded over and engaged with the strap to hold the same to the tongue.

2. In a buckle, the combination with a frame having an intermediate cross-bar, of a tongue hinged to said cross-bar and having its free end adapted to rest upon one of the end bars, and a shield hinged to said end bar and having a flexible strap secured to its free end and adapted to be inserted beneath the other end bar, so as to hold the shield entirely over the tongue.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

DAVID E. IVHITE.

Witnesses:

OMER O. CLARK, HARRY LILLIE. 

